Actor Michael B. Jordan and director Ryan Coogler have sent shock waves through social media after a Vanity Fair photo of the two “embracing” landed on the Internet.

The photo was a glamour shot for a profile piece in Vanity Fair written last week.

The two-time collaborators of critically acclaimed projects like Fruitvale Station and Creed, are seen in a pose that implies that the two are more than just good friends. Others have stated that the photo is an example of a harmless brotherly embrace between two people who respect one another.

On Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, users plastered their various opinions about the two.

In one Facebook post, user Anthony J Dennis stated:

“Whats next for Jordan? Obviously to turn his image into a fag. So predictable, any Black actor thats has success has to be emasculated or his career is over. Disgusting Edomites pushing that disgusting homosexuality, read Leviticus 20:13.

Job 9:24
“The earth is given into the hand of the wicked”

Many Facebook users felt strongly about the photo because they see it as another attempt at “Black male emasculation” in Hollywood — where Black comedians are put in dresses and Black men have little agency in films. The users are sensing that these two are straying down that “path.”

However, many people did not see it that way. Twitter users thought the photo had a positive message behind it. In fact, many praised it as a symbol of Black brotherhood.